Small Business Owner Benefiting from Obamacare to Join Wasserman Schultz for State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) has invited South Florida constituent Martin West to be her guest to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

West and his wife Melinda are small business owners in South Florida who are benefiting from the reforms of the Affordable Care Act. In 1994 Melinda was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy and radiation. This is why the Affordable Care Act means so much to the Wests, because now they don’t have to worry about being dropped from their health insurance due to Melinda’s pre-existing condition.

Last December, Martin signed his family up for their new health care plan on Healthcare.gov. Their former plan with Coventry Healthcare cost $757.32 a month and their benefits included a $10,000 deductible and $20,000 in out of pocket expenses. Their new plan’s premium, also with Coventry, costs $480.55 per month and the benefits include a deductible of $7,500 and an out of pocket of $12,700. This premium, deductible and out of pocket expenses are the same rates they paid nearly 10 years ago.

West, a moderate Republican, wrote to Wasserman Schultz about the Affordable Care Act, “While I was unsure how Obamacare would play out, I think now this is a good thing and I believe premiums and benefits will be positively impacted. I am glad that you pushed through this legislation.” After reading his email, Wasserman Schultz reached out to West to ask him to join her at a news conference earlier this year at Hispanic Unity in South Florida to talk about what the Affordable Care Act has meant to him and his family.